Barbara Goldhammer’s Chicken Pot Pie

My idea of what a chicken pot pie should be and what it always ends up being are completely two different things. I always want to to be so much better. I want it to have more depth and flavor, to be creamy and rich, and to have a flaky, buttery crust. It has turned into a life long journey of finding the right, the best, the most delicious pot pie, and it has been one disappointment after another…..until now. Thank goodness for Barbara dropping the hammer on the pot pie world.

My pal Amy gave me two of her mom’s delicious and scrumptious recipes. You’ll be seeing the cake in weeks to come. (Barbara went and made her daughter’s tiered wedding cake from a favorite family recipe. It is deceptively simple and magically delicious.) As a connoisseur of pot pies, it was obvious which one I had to make first.

“Everyone claims their mom or dad makes the best chicken pot pie. Well, my mom really DOES make the BEST chicken pot pie. We grew up on these, and my mom always made them as individual mini-pies, which I now realize was because it makes extras easy to freeze and easy to reheat in a pinch. My brother’s family is vegetarian and she figured out a way to make these vegetarian, without losing any of the original taste! Now when we visit, whenever my mom asks what we want for dinner, the answer is always ‘chicken pot pies.” -Amy C.

This recipe calls for cooked chicken, cooked carrots, and chicken broth, so I thought I would take care of all three in one fell swoop. I put a pot on the stove with my bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs, a roughly cut up onion, 4 peeled carrots, some rough cut celery with tops, and salt. I brought it up to a boil, covered it and lowered it to a simmer for about 40 minutes. When it was done, I had a ton of rich chicken broth, cooked chicken and the cooked carrots that I took out and sliced.

Once the chicken was cooled, I chopped it up along with the celery, parsley, and green onions and set them to the side. And by the way, I had so much chicken broth left over AFTER making this recipe, that I put it in two 28 oz containers, labeled it and popped them in the freezer for another time.

So, here is where Barbara may give me a questioning look of disdain. I did not make my own pie crust. YOU HEARD ME. But that is the beauty of this modern age! I just happen to have pre-made rolled up pie dough in my freezer. I mean, I didn’t want to be wasteful, right? Plus, it took far less time to unroll and place then it would have if I had made my own dough, rolled it out and placed it in my pie plate. I realize that it cannot compare to homemade, but boy did it make my life easier.

In went the pie dough to the bottom of the pan.

**Very important note here. Amy made it very clear that her favorite version was the individual portion. I believe it was all about the crust. But who says a whole pie isn’t my very own ‘individual portion’? Huh, Amy?

Now for the magic.

Melt the butter in a pan. Whisk in flour 1 tablespoon at time. Continue whisking in flour until completely incorporated. Let it cook on medium heat for a few more minutes. I found that this additional time on the stove gave it a smokey depth.

I began to add the chicken broth a little at a time. It seemed to be doing a lot of sizzling up and evaporating. I didn’t start seeing too much of a liquid until I had added about a cup worth. By the way….it smelled AMAZING. I ended up whisking and adding about 2 cups of the broth. It got all creamy and thick. I poured in about 2-3 tablespoons of the half-n-half and ended up getting this really velvety sauce into which I added the onions, parsley, and celery and let simmer for a few minutes.

This is the time where you figure out if you want it to be thicker or soupier. Add more chicken broth to get it to your liking.

Put in the carrots, chicken, frozen peas, and stir. Add salt, pepper, and paprika to taste. I found that with my homemade chicken broth, I needed to add a lot more salt at this stage. If I had used store bought, I’m sure that I wouldn’t have needed to add too much more. I took the mixture off of the stove and spooned it into my prepared pie crust.

At this point, I fully realized how easy this recipe was to make. I had never made a pot pie before, somehow thinking that it was the unattainable. But now I’m thinking about all the possibilities there are for additional ingredients! Barbara Goldhammer is my hero!

Never having made a lattice crust before, I just cut up strips out of the second pie crust and got to work. Once laid out, I folded over the edges and crimped it with my thumbs all the way around. For not knowing what the heck I was doing, I think I did a pretty great job!

I popped it in a 375 degree oven and walked away for an hour.

It wasn’t quite done after an hour, so I waited 10 more minutes and checked again and found it bubbly and golden. I took it out of the oven and let it sit for about 10 minutes before diving right in.

It was everything I had been looking for. It was rich and tasty, and most importantly….there was this creamy sauce that waltzed the chicken and veggies around with the ease of Fred Astaire. This was my kind of Chicken Pot Pie.

Do you think Barbara would mind if I added sherry to it? It’s what a growing girl needs.

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Comments: 5

I just had a feeling this one would be THE one! And my first thought was to compliment you on how amazing the crust looked. I would have never known you didn’t make it yourself. Wish I was there to try a bite 🙂

I am so honored to be the recipient of your wonderful accolades! When Amy asked me to send her my Chicken Pot Pie recipe….again & again, I had no idea it would end up as a posted recipe! Thank you so much!
I first made these about 30 years ago! I would buy frozen 3-inch tart shells in packages of 8. I would prepare 16 mini pot pies for our family of four. We never had any leftovers!! They have been and continue to be a family favorite!
Adding some sherry sounds fabulous!

I’m the one who is honored! I had so much fun making this recipe and I cannot wait to try some variations. SO GOOD! And thank you for the quick tip about the tart shells. Next time I do this, I am freezing them individually and will have them at the ready. Stand aside, Marie Callender!!!

My dear, sweet friend, Barbara is the most amazing woman I have ever known!! She is not just an amazing cook, she sews beautifully and also makes the best matzo ball soup in the world!! I can’t wait to try this chicken pot pie recipe, I remember when she made the little ones and they were delicious!! I love you, Honey!! Muuuaaahh!!

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Holly found her mom's little metal recipe box in a recent move and thought all of you might like to know what recipes were her mom's favorites. This is an adventure through 1970's and 1980's cuisine that you never knew you were missing.
Holly also likes to make you that thing that you never knew you needed, experiment with recipes when her pantry is low, consume all Satsuma oranges within a 5 mile radius, exuberantly express her delight in newly discovered goodies, and weep in sheer joy over thoughtful gestures.